Labor rebels are set to increase pressure on the Government to abolish the controversial two-child benefit cap , with many emboldened by recent U-turns on benefit cuts and winter fuel .
Several Labour MPs told The i Paper the Government's concessions could encourage fresh calls to scrap the controversial cap , which limits child-related benefit payments to the first two children in most families.
I think this issue will have emboldened a lot of backbench MPs ," one Labour MP said. "It has opened the door to the possibility of what you can say and do in terms of challenging the government on any issue.
That's the major impact of all of this, welfare aside – everybody's going to feel much more confident to push the Government into being bolder and more Labour, frankly.
Labour has not ruled out scrapping the cap, and many hoped that the Child Poverty Taskforce, announced shortly after the general election, would lead to the Government abolishing it.
The publication of the taskforce’s report has been delayed, however, with many now expecting it to be published in the autumn.
The MP added that the review – co-chaired by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson – and the Government's tone on the issue had led many in the party to "sense that we're probably pushing at an open door" on scrapping the cap.
But Rachel Reeves is under huge pressure to maintain her fiscal rules, and the partial U-turns on welfare announced last week have only made that task harder. Estimates suggest scrapping the cap could cost more than £2bn.
The growing confidence of Labour MPs was visible on Monday as ministers set out a range of concessions to the proposed welfare changes. aimed at appeasing the 120 MPs who supported a motion calling for the repeal of the legislation .
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It is unclear how many MPs will ultimately rebel in the crucial vote on Tuesday, but it is widely expected that the bill, which makes major changes to universal credit and personal independence payment (PIP) eligibility, will pass its second reading.
However, many opposed to the changes have warned that growing disillusionment among MPs over the handling of the benefits reforms has made some MPs more likely to criticise the Government over other issues, including the benefit cap.
For some it will be: 'I've swallowed this shit sandwich, you now need to help us out,' one backbencher said. 'For others though, a lot of new MPs in particular who had a basic faith in the Starmer administration, that's been shaken now by what they are trying to do.'
They continued: "Some people think [this bill] is not what Labour does... some will have had their eyes opened and they will be thinking 'can I trust the Government on some of these issues?' I think the answer now will be no for some of them."
Another Labour MP said the concessions would "possibly" increase pressure on Reeves over the benefit cap. "I think we were looking at this anyway and I would support it if the option was there," they said.
A third MP echoed this, adding: "A government changing a benefits system which then pushes some of the most vulnerable into poverty, that's a direct link... I think you might find that the calls for [scrapping the benefit cap] increase."
York Outer MP Rachael Maskell said she was disappointed by the delay in the child poverty strategy and in scrapping the two-child benefit cap. She told The i Paper There has got to be movement on this... we see it as a priority and an immediate step that can be taken.
She also hinted that MPs were growing bolder ahead of the welfare vote, adding: "I think colleagues are now much more attuned to where their constituents are, and are certainly recognising the need to speak up for them."
I am seeing a change in mood... I think far more people are expressing concern, no matter what they intend to do on these matters.
A Labour insider claimed "the two-child cap is in the sights of people like Work and Pensions Committee chair Debbie Abrahams, and she could take rebels from this [welfare reforms] with her."
She’s very much trusted and leading the charge.
Last year, seven Labour MPs were suspended from the parliamentary party for voting against the Government on an amendment to eliminate the two-child benefit cap. Four of these MPs were readmitted in February, but the remaining members continue to sit as independents.
Pressure to remove the limit has remained, with Labour figures, such as former prime minister Gordon Brown , describing it as a measure that condemns children to poverty last year.
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